Katee Sackhoff talks RIDDICK and female EXPENDABLES

Most of us probably first got to know Katee Sackhoff as the ball busting Cara “Starbuck” Thrace on Battlestar Galactica. Since the end of that show though, she’s had time to grow up… Into A slightly older ball buster apparently.

It’s this attitude that has landed her alongside former professional ass kicker turned movie star Gina Carano on the cast list of a possible all female version of The Expendables, as well as one of the mercenaries trying to track down the intergalactic badass Richard B. Riddick.

Sackhoff spoke to Collider about Acting Outlaws, the quasi charity group/motorcycle club she began with fellow BSG alum Tricia Helfer, and for which the pair have shot a new sexy calendar to raise funds for charity (Yes, you read that right: Starbuck and Number 6 did a risque calendar. Your lonely geek wishes have come true), and while doing so also spoke about two other acting gigs on the horizon which may interest fans for totally other reasons than just her lady lumps.

When asked how it was shooting Riddick, the highly anticipated third film in writer/director David Twohy’s sci-fi chronicles of bright eyed and not-so-bushy tailed intergalactic anti-hero Richard B. Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, Sackhoff not only expressed her excitement about the project, but also revealed what could have been a personally embarrassing little situation.

“Oh, my god, yeah! It’s a dream come true. I’ve been a fan of the Riddick series since Pitch Black, and I’m such a huge fan of Vin and (director) David Twohy. When I got the job, I was jumping up and down and crying and screaming. And then, the director said to me, “You do know there’s nudity, right?” And I was like, “Shit! I have to talk to my dad first. I can’t take the role until I call my dad. Let me call you right back.” So, I called my dad. I’ve always said that I’ll know when I’ve gone too far because I won’t be able to sit down and watch it with my father. I am a daddy’s girl at heart, even though I’m in my 30s. So, I told him about it and he said, “You know, I can handle that, but I don’t know if your brother will be okay. It’s Vin Diesel. Don’t say no to Vin Diesel. Just go do the movie.” So, I called David Twohy back and said, “My dad said I can take my clothes off.” It was pretty funny, actually.”

It was recently revealed that Riddick would be getting an R rating, and with Sackhoff’s reveal about the nudity, that probably isn’t a surprise. But it actually wasn’t just given the more mature rating because she’s flashing her wares.

“There’s a shitload of blood and there’s little pieces of nudity, here and there. There’s my nudity too, but it’s side boob, for three to five seconds. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s mostly for the language. My character and Matt Nable’s character say f%#k, like every other word. It’s kind of fantastic, actually. He must have said f%#k 15 times, in every single scene. It’s pretty awesome. So, it’s mostly for language.”

Joe Pesci must be so proud. Sackhoff also revealed a bit more about her character’s story, and also what she’s seen of the currently in-production film thus far.

“Her name is Dahl and she’s a Nordic bounty hunter. She’s German. It’s just fantastic! There’s a scene where one of the characters screws with my character and I punch him in the face. She’s really very short-tempered and she’s got a short fuse. She’s funny. She’s very, very, very good at her job. She’s a sniper, and she’s the number two commanding officer, behind Matt Nable’s character, in our group of mercenaries. She’s great! Matt and I decided, from day one, after we met, that we were kindred spirits. We got along really well. We knew that we wanted to be standing next to each other, in every scene. We went and told the D.P. about it and he was like, “I like it. It works.” That was cool! I’m really excited about it. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever had the privilege to be a part of. It really is a dream come true. It’s amazing!”

“I’ve seen bits and pieces when I’ve gone in to do ADR, and it looks really fun. I’m really excited about it!”

After Sylvester Stallone and his old boys blew up the box office not once but twice, Hollywood immediately jumped to the conclusion that they could do it again, but this time with boobs, and thus plans got made for an all female version of the Expendables (not to be confused with The Expendabelles, the actual official all-lady spinoff from Stallone’s movie that Lionsgate is also making) with Katee Sackhoff and ex-MMA fighter turned actress Gina Carano the first to join the cast.

“Well, I am attached to it, but things always happen. If a script got delivered and was absolutely horrible, then you figure things out. But, I can’t imagine, with everyone that (producer) Adi Shankar is bringing around the project, that it’s going to be bad. I really put a lot of faith in him and his eye for detail. I’m a big fan of Gina [Carano], and there’s a lot of strong women. When I sat down with Adi and he pitched the women that he wanted in the movie, these are not your 5 foot 2, skinny girls. These are the girls that can actually kick some ass, which made me excited. And they are different types of girls. I haven’t seen The Expendables movies, but not every one of us has the same fighting style and we’re all different body types. It’s believable that we could all kick some ass. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“This business is hard. People and producers and studios and finance guys get caught up in saying, “Women don’t sell movies,” or “This person doesn’t sell foreign,” or “You have to attach guys first,” or “People don’t want to see women do this.” I’ve heard those things so many times that I’ve actually heard myself say them, a number of times. It is nice for someone to finally take a chance. In the last couple of years, our business and a lot of people have stopped taking chances and have started just recycling old ideas. There is a market for that. Trust me, I watch the movies, so I know there’s a market for it. But, I also think there’s a market for things that are new and different and take chances. Those are the movies that really take people by surprise. I don’t know. I am surprised it’s taken this long. I’m happy that it did because I wouldn’t have been in it.”

Although no release date has been set for Riddick yet, David Twohy is currently up to his eyeballs in post-production, so expect an announcement soon.

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